


Soulmates - Adrinette

by sariahsue



Series: Lovesquare Requests [14]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, F/M, Fluff, Soulmate AU, adrienette - Freeform, no powers au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sariahsue/pseuds/sariahsue
Summary: Quiet enough to be overlooked, loud enough to be heard when Adrien wanted to listen, his soulmate's heartbeat echoed distantly in his ears, steady and reassuring, a promise that she was out there waiting for him, that they would meet someday.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Lovesquare Requests [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696513
Comments: 11
Kudos: 249





	Soulmates - Adrinette

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by anonymous
> 
> Note: Somehow, all my Adrinette stories turn into no miraculous AUs, and this was no exception.

Adrien woke with a start a 3:03 a.m. and couldn't figure out why. His room was deathly quiet. His wide window was dark except for a smudge of moon behind a cloud. No dreams had startled him, so what was it? He sat up quietly, expecting to see something happen, and waiting for nothing. Why on earth was he awake?

Tomorrow was the first day of his second year of public school, and he needed his rest. He should go back to sleep, but instead of lying back down, he sat and listened for _her._

Quiet enough to be overlooked, loud enough to be heard when he wanted to listen, his soulmate's heartbeat echoed distantly in his ears, steady and reassuring, a promise that she was out there waiting for him, that they would meet someday. Or had they met already? There was no way for him to tell yet.

What he did know was that she was sleeping peacefully somewhere. The steady thrum of her heart was soothing, pulling him back into his exhaustion. He was almost there, dancing along the edge of sleep, when her gentle pulse became a breakneck gallop, and Adrien blinked back awake at the sound. Her heart raced. At night, a sudden change like that could only mean one thing: a nightmare had woken her up. It had happened a few times before. He'd be up late, he'd hear her and worry, but she would go back to sleep quickly.

This time was different. After about five minutes of listening to her heart wildly thumping, he grew concerned. Shouldn't she have gone back to sleep by now, or at least started to calm down? It must have been more serious than a simple nightmare. Was something wrong?

If they'd been together, he would have waited up with her so she didn't have to be alone, soothed her and calmed her down. Apart, he still waited with her, though he knew it was impossible for her to feel the warmth and comfort he was trying to send her. If only he could tell her he was there for her!

_But,_ he thought, struck by a sudden idea, _maybe I can help after all._ He could hear her heartbeat, and she could hear his. They were two halves of a whole. Maybe listening to her soulmate's heartbeat was her favorite pastime, too.

Blankets were thrown onto the floor as he bounded out of bed and sprinted across his large room, tapped the opposite wall, then back, flopping on top of his covers. If she'd been listening, the short spike of his heart rate would let her know he was awake too, that he was with her. He made the dash again, then a third time, before tucking himself back into bed and taking deep breaths. That should be enough to get her attention.

Phase two of the plan was to hope she was listening and get her to calm down. Adrien breathed in slowly, held it, then breathed out even more slowly, like he'd been taught. Control the breath to control the heart and anxiety. As his racing pulse slowed, hers did too. Peace settled between them, and in a few minutes, she returned to the same steady pace she'd been at when he'd woken.

He had helped her. Even without being able to touch her or see her, without even knowing her name, he'd given her enough comfort to be able to sleep.

Not for the first time, he wondered what she would look like. He'd never tried to imagine a look for her, but he couldn't shake the smell of cookies when he thought of her, or the feeling of his lips against her cool skin and her bangs tickling his nose as his kissed her forehead. In his mind, he gave her that kiss every night before he went to sleep, and he did it again now.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

Adrien had a good feeling about this school year. Granted, it hadn't technically started yet, but he'd gotten a seat next to Nino again, so that was a good sign. Nino spun his cap in his hands as they waited for the first bell to ring. Familiar faces filed into the classroom one at a time, distracting Adrien from the story he was trying to tell.

"And so after she woke up…" Nino prompted again.

"Sorry," Adrien said. "I thought there had to be something I could do to calm her down. She felt so panicked! And– Oh, hey Marinette! Are you okay?"

Marinette's eyes were glazed over with exhaustion as she trudged into the classroom, but at his question she stood up straighter and managed a tired smile and a flustered "You're– I'm f-fine," before tripping her way up to the spot Alya was saving for her right behind him.

"And you calmed her down how?" Nino prodded.

"Sorry," Adrien said again. Without any more interruptions, he continued telling the story, angling himself in his seat to include Alya and Marinette. He'd hoped they'd all be impressed with his creative solution, or at least think he was some kind of romantic hero, but he was disappointed.

"I'm telling you, dude, you are the biggest sap I've ever met," Nino said. "And I've met Marinette."

"Hey!"

"It's true," Alya said. "You're both disgusting."

"I'm serious, though!" Adrien said. "She didn't start calming down until after I let her know I was there. I helped."

Alya scoffed. "She probably just fell back asleep and wasn't even listening."

But when he looked at Marinette, her eyes were wide. A blush crept across her face, as cute as it was familiar. She seemed to be blushing every time he looked at her, but this one was different somehow.

"You believe me?" he asked, leaning back in his chair to get a better look at her.

"How long have we known each other?" she asked.

Confused by the question, Adrien let his chair drop back to the ground. "I missed the first day of school, so a year ago tomorrow. Why?"

"I… I woke up this morning. Early. I'd had a nightmare, and then I was worried about school and couldn't fall asleep, and–"

"What time?" Adrien asked. Without hesitation, he kneeled backward on his seat, so he was level with Marinette. They'd met almost a year ago. Was she saying… Could it be?

"Just after three," she whispered. "I listened for his heartbeat – my soulmate's, I mean. I do that a lot." She pushed her bangs out of her eyes nervously. "I was worried about class today, and I couldn't go back to sleep. And was alone, and he woke up. I listened until I fell asleep. He… he helped me."

Alya and Nino watched them silently. Adrien found he didn't know what to say, but when she leaned back in her seat, eyes downcast, he realized she'd been waiting for a response. "That's… that's good. I'm glad you were okay."

"Um," she said, voice very quiet. "Thanks."

Had it been her? Was her gratitude for the sentiment, or his help last night? Her story seemed too perfectly matched to be a coincidence.

The teacher walked in and started class, and Adrien regretfully turned to the front of the room. But for the entire day, he couldn't concentrate on what anyone (except Marinette) said, not while she was sitting just a few feet behind him.

He knew how you found out your soulmate. It was one year, down the the exact second, after you met them. If it was Marinette, he would know the love of his life's name tomorrow. They might be together forever, starting _tomorrow._

At the end of the school day, he gathered his things quickly and found Marinette standing at his elbow when he stood up to leave. She didn't speak to him, or even look at him, but he knew why she was there. He wanted to be close to her, too.

They walked out together in easy silence. The bustle of the student body, with its yelling, and pushing, and slamming lockers reflected his own excitement. He could find out tomorrow!

Outside, they stopped at the bottom of stairs and waited for Adrien's driver. It was only a short walk to Marinette's home. There was no reason for her to wait with him, but wait she did. She stayed next to him, her sleeve occasionally brushing his bare arm, until the limo weaved its way through the throng of leaving students and pull up to the door.

"Well," she finally said, and Adrien turned to listen. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely," he said. "Tomorrow."

Adrien's soulmate was up late that night. While he lay in bed, willing himself to fall asleep, he listened to her heart racing. Would Marinette's image be imprinted on his mind in a few hours? Was that her heartbeat he was hearing? Was it so fast because Marinette was excited about the morning? Nervous?

What if it was Marinette? What if it wasn't? He'd never considered her before, instead always wanting to wait for his soulmate, but he had never denied what a nice person she was. Caring, creative, and courageous. He would be so lucky if it was her.

Adrien didn't feel tired until his soulmate's heartbeat slowed to the steady rhythm of sleep. Just before he drifted off himself, he completed his nightly ritual of kissing her forehead, but this time, it was pale skin, dark hair, and blue eyes that he imagined.

Adrien was wide awake the instant he woke up. He had known Marinette for 364 days and 23 hours. He had only one more hour until he knew whether or not it was her, and he couldn't have been more nervous. Or more ready.

Rushing through his morning routine, gulping down his breakfast so fast he couldn't remember if he even ate it, he was ready to go 30 minutes earlier than normal. Waiting for his ride was agony. There was nothing to distract him, just the pounding of her heart, which beat in time to his.

When the car finally pulled up, the ride seemed to take forever. They were stuck behind the slowest drivers and had to stop for every pedestrian in the city. The armrest was going to have holes in it if he drummed his fingers on it any harder, he was sure.

The soulmate process didn't require him to be around her when their year was up. But he wanted to be. If Marinette was the one… he didn't want to waste even a second.

Much to his driver's annoyance, Adrien was opening his car door and sticking his feet out before the car had fully finished parking in front of the school. What was the time, exactly, that they had met last year? As he checked the time on his phone, he realized he couldn't remember. It had been right before class had started, though.

Finding a spot along the wall where he could see Marinette's bakery, the school's front door, and everything in between, he waited for her. She was usually late, though he thought she'd been on time today. Students filed past him, and he checked every one of their faces, looking for her. With any luck, she would arrive after everyone else, and they would be the last ones outside together.

The minutes ticked on. (He knew they did. He checked the clock 18 times in the 15 minutes he waited.) Clouds rushed by overhead, going as fast as he wished Marinette would, but still she didn't come. With only a few minutes left before the bell rang, she still hadn't come, and Adrien had to admit defeat and go inside alone. He must have missed her.

The walk up to his classroom seemed long, even though it took him less than a minute. Lonelier than he expected, too. So many people around him were walking hand-in-hand. He grabbed his backpack straps just to hold something.

As he shuffled into the classroom, he was greeted with a very cheerful, "Good morning, Adrien." There she was. Sitting in her usual spot, bright and shining in her excitement. "Did you just get here?" Her bouncing leg gave away the underlying anxiety. Alya put a hand on her knee under the table, but it didn't help.

"N-no," he said, stopping in the doorway to stare at her, like the idiot he was. "I've been outside. You came early?"

"Oh, yeah. Pretty much early," she babbled. "No reason. Just happened to get here ago 30 minutes." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced above the doorway, where the clock was sitting. No reason, she said. Sure.

When Kim poked him in the back, Adrien finally stumbled into the room, his knees feeling like jello. He passed Nino without even looking at him, swept past his desk without dropping his backpack, and came to stop at Marinette's side. Still sitting, she looked up at him, and their eyes locked. Around them, the class's usual chatter died out. Everyone watched them as the timer counted down.

When would it happen? Would it happen? What would he feel after it happened? How much longer? The seconds ticked on.

"Class," the teacher announced, "seats."

Adrien blinked and looked toward the front of the room, though he didn't really see it. Class was starting? But he'd met Marinette before class a year ago.

Crushing disappointment rushed him as the truth sunk in. It wasn't her. Marinette would have been so perfect for him, but she wasn't the one.

A small sniff shook him from his thoughts, and he turned back to the girl in front of him. Marinette looked down at her hands as they trembled in her lap.

Another awful realization hit him, more brutal than the first. Marinette was brokenhearted. She had liked him already. How had he never noticed that?

Her chair squeaked as she stood up. "I just remembered that I don't feel good and need to go home."

"Marinette," he said. He wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure what he could say that wouldn't make it worse. Seeing him would probably make it worse at this point, a reminder that they weren't–

"Miss!" Alya called. Their teacher turned away from the board, chalk already in hand. Alya stood next to Marinette, arm around her shoulder and trying to push her back into her seat with no success. "That clock is fast. We can't start yet."

"I don't think it's–"

"Please!" the class called.

"Just a few more minutes!"

"Not yet!"

_Do we really have more time?_

Marinette's eyes, still teary, found his again. For a moment, he was confused. He could swear the classroom looked suddenly different, just like last year's. The room spun in his mind, until it fixed on Marinette's clear face, full of anger at something he hadn't done, but now he'd never been so happy to have someone mad at him. The flashback caused him to see her twice, expression of outrage overlaid on her current wide-eyed wonder. "What do you think you're doing?" the memory whispered before it faded. "I was just trying to take the gum off!"

Maybe the rest of the class was staring at them. Maybe they'd already started the lesson. To Adrien, they didn't even exist. His soulmate was standing right in front of him.

"Hi," she whispered.

Like he had imagined doing so many times, Adrien leaned down and brushed his lips to her forehead. She grabbed his collar to keep him there a second longer.

_Cookies,_ he thought. _I guessed that right._ But she was warm, though he had always imagined cold. Warm and real and right here.

"Hi," he whispered back as he pulled away.

Instead of stepping down to his own seat, he walked around to Alya's side of the table and grabbed the back of her chair. "May I?"

Alya scooped up her things without a word and went to sit in Adrien's old spot.

He didn't want to waste a single second that he had with her. Marinette echoed his sentiment. As soon as the teacher turned back to the board, she interlaced their fingers under the table. This was a brand new feeling, his soulmate's fingertips against his, the promise of a future where they would never be alone. He loved it.

He loved her already.

**Author's Note:**

> The longest request by far and also one of my favorites. Request 14/16


End file.
